The present invention relates to an improved automatic pet food dispensing device. More particularly, this invention relates to an automatic pet food dispensing device that will prevent over or underfeeding of pets and food from jamming in the feeder.
Automatic pet food dispensing devices are widely used to feed pets and animals, especially when the pet owner is away from the pet for a period of time. The diet of pets and animals is important to the their health. In order to control the diet, quantity and timeliness of feeding should be considered. Automatic pet food dispensing devices allow pets to be fed regularly and in controlled amounts.
It has been difficult for pet owners to regularly feed their pets. Misfeeding occurs in some of the situations as follows:    1) The pet keeper is not able to come home to feed the pet;    2) The pet keeper is away for an extended period of time and requires a pet sitter or a kennel, both of which may be costly to the pet owner;    3) Multiple family members feed the pet at different times and overfeed the pet.
To remedy these situations, numerous pet food dispensers have been provided in the prior art. Examples of automatic pet feeders include U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,862 to Pitchford, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,171 to Essex; U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,805 to Wing; U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,056 to Kuo; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,657 to Krishnamurthy. However, each of these feeders is subject to either food jams or crush especially in the in the places where the pet food enters or dispenses due to the use of augers for funneling food.